Historic.
Even before India’s largest table tennis contingent checks into the Olympic Village, that’s the one-word summation of its Paris 2024 campaign.
It’s going to be a historic fortnight for more reasons than one.
India’s men and women have qualified for the team championship at the Olympics for the first time since table tennis became an Olympic sport in 1988.
India’s table tennis team for Paris 2024 includes eight players, including a reserve each in men and women, doubling the previous largest contingent of Indian paddlers at the Olympics.
Manika Batra will be the second Indian paddler to compete in three Olympics. A. Sharath Kamal will join a select group of Indian athletes, including Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Abhinav Bindra, and Karni Singh, who have participated in five Olympic editions.
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The fact that Sharath has been asked to be India’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony is the perfect icing on the cake. It’s undoubtedly a historic occasion for Indian table tennis, which, until recently, had its sights set only on Commonwealth Games glory.
However, as the Indian players boarded a plane to Germany for a week-long camp en route to Paris, none appeared in a celebratory mood. Instead, they wore a determined look, eager to prove that they “belong” at the Olympics. This determination reflects the aspirations of 21st-century Indian athletes. Should fans hope for at least one Indian to finish on the podium? You can hope, but it comes with a caveat.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but the Indian table tennis contingent is certainly aspiring to make its mark, continuing the good work from Tokyo three years ago. In Tokyo, Sharath surpassed the round of 64 and challenged the legendary Ma Long of China before bowing out in the round of 32. Manika also reached the round of 32, becoming the first Indian female paddler to win two matches at the Olympics. This time, both Sharath and Manika, along with Harmeet Desai and Sreeja Akula, are aiming to reach at least the round of 16 in singles, if not the quarterfinals. In the team championships, both groups are determined to advance past the pre-quarterfinals and reach the quarterfinals.
Fine form: Ahead of the Olympics, Sreeja Akula became the first Indian to win a WTT Contender singles title after defeating Ding Yijie of China 4-1 in Lagos (Nigeria) last month. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
“Once you reach the quarterfinals, anything can happen,” says Sharath. Everyone knows that there will be no easy matches. The draw will have a huge impact, and the Indian men hope they won’t be pitted against mighty China early on. Meanwhile, due to their higher rankings, Manika and Sreeja are unlikely to face China before the round of 32.
The draws for all events will take place on July 24, just three days before the team championship starts.
This will give the players and head coach Massimo Costantini, reappointed after six years, time to strategize. Costantini has had to deal with a controversy that erupted soon after he formally took charge for his third stint.
A revolt by all four female paddlers led to the women’s assistant coach being forced to withdraw midway through the preparatory camp in Bengaluru in June. However, this has not resulted in a compromised team environment. In that sense, history will not repeat itself from Tokyo, where Manika chose to play her matches without the then national coach to advise her.
The Indian contingent seems focused on making history at the upcoming Games, aiming to improve upon their performance in Tokyo. Can they do it? Love-all, play!
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